“AchievementGap”ClosingSlightlyforYoungStudentsinU.S.W...

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 “Achievement Gap” Closing Slightly for Young Students in U.S.

Within many education systems, wealthier students often test better than poorer ones, which, to education experts, is often called the “achievement gap.”

Sean Reardon is a professor of poverty and  41  in education at Stanford. He studied children and how they prepare for kindergarten classes. He also looked at how their preparation has changed since the 1990s. He found  42  that from 1998 to 2010 the achievement gap closed a little.

One way to reduce the gap is to offer pre-kindergarten  43  to very young children.

Education experts and some politicians have long  44  for pre-kindergarten classes for all young children. In fact, it has been a  45  heard on the political campaign trail —universal pre-kindergarten classes for all 3- and 4-year-olds.

Such classes are already being offered in some areas around the United States, including the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C.  46 , education reformers may want to look to Washington as a role model.

Vincent Gray, former mayor of the District of Columbia, wrote the legislation for universal pre-K when he was chairman of the D.C. Council. His  47  gave parents of all children in Washington the choice to begin school at either age 3 or 4. The pre-K programs are not a  48  in the city. Parents can still choose what is best for their family. But many parents are choosing education.

However, there are theories that say a child does not need schooling at the age of 3 and 4. If we are looking at test results, Finland  49  the United States and most other countries in mathematics, reading and science. Yet Finnish children do not start school until age 7.

Perhaps there is not a one-size-fits-all answer. Perhaps different children need school at different times. Generally, wealthier parents have more  50  resources to help their children. Educated parents — wealthy or not — may know how to use the resources that are available to them. For example, they may take their children to free events at a public library or recreation center. Washington, D.C. also has many museums with free  51 .

Perhaps children who grow up with these types of activities don’t need to start attending school at age 3. However, children who are growing up in what Vincent Gray calls socio-economically  52  situations may not have access to such activities. For some families, he says, starting school at age 3 can be a game changer.

Pre-kindergarten classes do more than  53  the child. They also bring parents and caregivers into the schools. This point of contact, explains Gray, is a valuable time to educate families.

A federal study found that,  54 , parent involvement increased with such contacts. But it increased even more among  55  parents. It shows schools offer a place where conversations with these parents can happen.

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41-45: BDCBA 46-50: ABCAD 51-55: BCDAD

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